Workshop Reports/Summaries

Discussions at workshops and other events are often
published in workshop summaries, websites, newsletters, and other
formats to preserve and make publicly accessible the information or
discussions from the event.

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Since their introduction in the 1940s, herbicides have helped farmers control the spread of weeds in their fields, saving them the money and time it would take to remove weeds using labor-intensive manual methods. Over this time, some weeds have evolved herbicide resistance--the naturally occurring ability to survive treatment at a normal field dosage of the herbicide. But now, with tens of thousands of farmers using herbicides for weed contro...
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In the United States, people living in low-income neighborhoods frequently do not have access to affordable healthy food venues, such as supermarkets. Instead, those living in "food deserts" must rely on convenience stores and small neighborhood stores that offer few, if any, healthy food choices, such as fruits and vegetables. Data show that these same neighborhoods frequently have high rates of diet-related diseases, such as obesity an...
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Most of the diseases that have emerged over the past six decades, including AIDS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Avian Influenza, have been caused by zoonotic pathogens -- infectious agents that are transmitted from animals to humans. In today's globalized world, the emergence of new zoonotic diseases could have devastating health, economic, environmental, agricultural, and sociopolitical impacts. At the request of the U.S. Agenc...
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Research is needed to help us to better understand the interactions of genetically engineered organisms (GEOs)--organisms whose genetic material has been modified to produce desirable traits--with their surrounding ecosystems. Today, most GEOs are crops that contain one or two gene traits that improve weed and insect control. However, research and testing are underway in a large variety of plants, microorganisms, and animals to introduce a muc...
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Many developing countries are exploring whether biotechnology has a role in addressing national issues such as food security and environmental remediation, and are considering whether the putative benefits of the technology to biodiversity, health, and local jobs. Some policy leaders worry that their governments are not prepared to take control of this evolving technology and that introducing it into society would be a risky act. Others hav...
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